“You okay?” he asked, squeezing my hand a little.

I nodded. “I’m just thinking of all the reasons that you’re too good for me and why you should be embarrassed to be holding my hand in public.”

Kael’s laugh was deep, coming from the core of his body. “What?” He held our hands up in the air, in an out-of-character move for him. My tummy twisted.

I let my thoughts turn into words. “You’re totally out of my league.” His expression was one of both confusion and calmness.

“Who’s deciding this? Just you?”

I nodded.

“You couldn’t be more wrong,” he said, as we passed a pretzel stand. The smell wafted through the air and my stomach grumbled. How could I be hungry after eating half a container of cinnamon rolls? There was a long line for the pretzels and the food court of the mall was beyond packed. Voices filled the space, all the way to the ceiling, with babies crying against the background noise of deep fryers bubbling and burgers sizzling as we walked past Wendy’s. A couple in front of us were arguing over losing a receipt for a jacket the woman had bought the man. They were in their forties, maybe, and I watched them as we walked behind them. They went from bickering to laughing and back to bickering. I imagined being a fortysomething with Kael, arguing in the mall over trivial things. I had to rein in my thoughts; they were way ahead of me, running wild.

“Almost there,” Kael reassured me, stroking his thumb over the back of my hand in his.

As we got closer, I unlocked our fingers and wrapped both of my arms around one of his, gluing myself to his side. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been around so many people at once, but I was relieved to have Kael with me, We approached a kiosk that looked like a jewelry counter, but instead of sparkling rings and necklaces, its glass cases held tablet and laptop brands I’d never heard of. There was a row of smart watches and cell phones in cases plastered with “deal” stickers, several of them announcing, “Fix your cracked screen here for cheap!”

The line was short, only one person ahead of us. And when the woman spoke, I immediately recognized her voice. Sure enough, Kael did, too, and as he said her name, I clung like a flea to his side.

“Turner?” He used his free hand to tap her shoulder.